Reunion On The Run
by From Thessia To Rannoch
Summary: Hawke and Isabela reunite. Made no effort to be canonical beyond what happens in Here Lies The Abyss (so there are spoilers for DA:I and DA:2!) Isabela is an admiral with her own crew and ship, but she risks it all to find Hawke and get her out of Weisshaupt. A Grey Warden civil war ensues, and the pair of them have to wonder if they're bound to be on the run forever. T for languag
1. Chapter 1

**Day One: Nighttime**

The weather was shite all last week and now it's clear skies and fair winds. Funny how this shit works out, and by funny I don't mean funny at all. Everything's gone mad: the mages, the Templars, the world— even myself, I think. Hawke fixed all sorts of things for us, and then that bastard Anders went and threw the world into the shithole. I swear on Andraste's cherry arse, if I ever see that fucking asshole again I'm going to shoot a cannonball right through him.

Maker's balls, writing has already taken it out of me. Never took much of a liking to writing things down like this; I only ever bothered with the ship's logbook. I'm giving it a shot now because this journal's the last gift Hawke ever gave me, and it only seems fitting that I record what's about to happen in it.

Tomorrow, me and two of my most trusted crew members disembark the ship. The Weisshaupt fortress is about a day's walk inland. The plan is for me and the twins, Gus and Neddic, to go to the Grey Warden fortress and find Hawke. The crew's supposed to wait at the port until we come back. I'm leaving Rigger in charge. Honestly don't know if I can trust Rigger or the others not to stage a coup or take off altogether while I'm gone, but what choice do I have? Varric's letter said Hawke was at Weisshaupt, and that Hawke had just barely escaped a battle in the fucking Fade of all venues to endanger herself in. There's no way I'm letting Hawke get away from me again. Last thing I want is to leash her, but it seems if I leave her to her own devices she'll just stick herself in front of a stampede.

I... I don't know. If I have one favor to cash in, it's that Hawke and I get out of there— together. People have been saying funny shit about the Wardens. Varric's letters have never seemed so hesitant. Was like he almost didn't want to tell me Hawke's location. Probably knew I'd kill him if I found out he left me in the dark.

Well, these daggers aren't going to sharpen themselves, and somebody's got to remind the twins to bring extra underpants.

**Day Two: Midday**

We're taking a break. We've been trekking for hours and hours. I could tell Gus and Neddic wanted to stop a moment ages ago, but I ignored them. Part of the reason I chose to bring these two with me is because I know they're not the type to complain. They also have the closest thing to loyalty I've ever seen in a raider. And since I don't know exactly how things are going to go down at Weisshaupt, at least I have these two at my back; they're real tempests in a fight. You should see them board an enemy ship.

"You." Huh. Sweet thing, I don't know if these are just my thoughts or if I'm writing a letter to you. Feels like this is the only way we can talk. I miss you, Hawke. I can't even put a funny spin on it anymore. I've had this plan for when we reunite. Shit, I've been revising this script in my head for months. I'd walk up to her, flip her around arse-to-navel— doesn't much matter where we are— and I'd say something witty, like, "I'm not letting you get away again. In fact, I'll be tying you to the bedpost first thing." I wasn't serious about it! Well, maybe I really did consider it for a bit. Mostly it was just to make me laugh when being apart started to make my soul ache.

Leaving the ship this morning was easier than I thought it would be. Rigger was trying real hard to reassure me that everything would be in the condition I left it when I came back. I couldn't tell if the honey was to blind me to his schemes or if he really was just trying to reassure me. Things aren't like how they were before where I knew I could trust my crew. Before Kirkwall, I had this wonderful frigate with men and women who'd jump in front of a saber for me. They were pirates, too, not any royal navy with some sworn oath bullshit foggying up their judgment. It was a real rarity. Don't think I'll ever find another crew like it. I suppose Merril and Varric were the next closest thing. But they were Hawke's crew, really. We all were. Oh, Kitten... I hope Aveline's protection extends all the way down to the alienage.

Better get moving again or else the twins might take a nap; they're toddlers that way. Neddic likes to say his lethargy is on account of his missing right eye, not aging. Bullshit, if you ask me, but the man makes me laugh.

**Day Two: Nightfall**

Gus's mage-iness came in handy with giving me some firelight to write by. Presently, I'm hold up in a cave by myself while the other two find dinner in the woods. I wouldn't normally risk the light, especially since I'm alone, but this journal's become something of a... comfort to me. And I'm anxious like a virgin on her wedding night. I can see the watchtowers up in the mountains. The fortress has got to be no more than a two hour walk from here. We want to approach during daylight, though, to avoid seeming suspicious. That's why we stopped walking for the night. This also forces me to go a longer amount of time with this... nervousness buzzing around inside me. Tomorrow's the day I've been waiting for. Tomorrow is what I risked being abandoned by my ship and crew for. Maker's arse, I don't want to be stranded in fucking Weisshaupt of all places. Antiva or even goddamn Orlais would be better than this; at least there's _something_ fun to do out there. Figures that Weisshaupt would be a bore; it's home to some of the most boring people in the world: Grey Wardens. More I think about it, the less sacred the Wardens seem. They go toting around their righteous agenda during the Blights, but if you stop and think a moment, they're fucking crazy. I mean, Anders was a Warden, right? Fuckin' Anders. I might believe in the Maker if he'd deliver that shitbag to the end of my dagger.

I'm too tired and anxious to write more. But I have very mixed feelings about the forecast for tomorrow, so I suppose I'll say this: let it be known that Leisha Hawke has one of the best arses I've ever seen, and that I love her dearly.


	2. Chapter 2

** Day Five: Nightfall**

It all went to shit, but it was worth it to be here now.

Hawke is asleep; took long enough to coax her into rest. I recognize this from those times in Kirkwall when things got very... dark for her. After her mother died, for instance. Leisha had a hard time falling asleep, even when she was completely spent. I used to hop out the window to get back to Lowtown so Leandra wouldn't catch me on my way out in the middle of the night. After she was killed, I stayed a while in the nights so Hawke could fall asleep. It was like she was afraid to abandon her vigil; someone needed to take over for her before she could relax. Now I'm the one who can't sleep, so here I am, writing in this journal again.

I suppose I'll start at the morning of the third day. We approached the Grey Warden fortress's portcullis. There were two archers on the wall staring down at us with that disdainful superiority a falcon would give a field mouse. Grey Warden's weren't earning lots of points with me. One of the archers yelled out for us to identify ourselves.

"I'm Isabela, and this is... my personal guard," I said. I felt one of the twins shift behind me; apparently they didn't like being demoted to bodyguards, but they understood what I was playing at. "I'm here to see Leisha Hawke."

"We can't say if there's someone by that name here," one of the Wardens said. Idiot.

"So that obviously means she is, in fact, inside." I admit I didn't have my nice girl voice on; that died when I realized I'd have to walk a day and abandon ship to get to that blasted fortress. "May I see her, please."

The sentry parroted back the same bullshit to me: Hawke's not here. I was growing impatient. In a second I would've flicked a dagger up into that man's eye and gnawed open the portcullis gate myself. Fortunately, though, Gus's a bit more patient than me. "What if we disarm?" he proposed, gesturing between himself and his brother. "Just us, not her. We mean you no harm, Wardens; we hear you're honorable people."

The warden eyed us suspiciously. "So her personal guard's going to disarm themselves? What's the point of hiring protection?"

Can't exactly explain my extreme impatience in that moment, but I managed to swallow the fiery retort down. "Do I have something to worry about? I just mean to see one of your guests. We've already offered to cut down our arms to a third." At that moment, some other Warden walked across the wall to the sentries hassling us. He asked what was going on. I couldn't hear their conversation, but in a few moments the gears were clicking against each other and the portcullis was rising laboriously. "Well, get in, then," he spat. Gus, Neddic, and I strode through the gate, exchanging some look between the three of us while we passed under where they would not be able to see. The look didn't mean anything tactical. It was more like, "We're in this together."

Once through the gate, the Wardens made quick work of disarming the twins. One of them tried to grab at me, but I swatted his hand away. "I'm keeping my shit, remember?" He grunted and pouted beneath that mustache.

The fortress seemed impregnable from the inside. The entire thing was an enormous structure, and even the atrium in which we stood was quite sizable. All the walls were lined with racks of javelins, ready to be thrown down at whatever idiots might try to invade through the main gate. Ballistas were posted at each of the five corners up top. The masonry told a story of wars waged in this spot, but all won in favor of those who currently held the fortress. It would have been much more impressive if the structure had enough Wardens to operate it. I counted them; there were four on the walls, sparsely posted, and two more up a flight of stone steps that led to the main building. If you added the three who had come to take our weapons and escort us, there were less than ten altogether. Surely there were more inside, but nine men to both watch and defend a fortress so massive? The Wardens must be an endangered species.

We ascended the steps. Two Wardens pushed open the massive doors to the great hall while the other remained in back of us. I saw her almost immediately; she was standing right in the middle of the walkway. She had that same stance of keen repose, her head ducked down a little towards her crossed arms, legs straight all the way down and planted firmly on the deep blue carpet. Her back was to me as she spoke to one of the Wardens who regarded me with sharp, burning eyes.

"Hawke!" I yelled. I always imagined it with us running into each other's arms but I found in that moment that I could not move. It felt like it took minutes for that damned girl to just turn around and look at me, but it was glorious still. In those slow pulses of time I saw those eyes spark alive like flint while joy and disbelief mixed to form the smile on her face. But happy as I was as I hurried towards her, I noticed something else in the way her expression seemed held back. Something was off.

We met in the middle. She grabbed me tightly and pulled me in, but I could barely feel it. All I felt was her breath on my ear as she whispered, "You have to get out of here."

Fuck it, so things seemed dangerous. I'd been needing Hawke for so long that there was no chance in hell I was going to let go so easily. I kept my hands on her shoulders a while, dipping my head down to search into her eyes. It was there: love, spotted with fear and apprehension. And I hoped my eyes conveyed what they needed to: _Whatever's going on here,_ we'll_ be the ones to kick arse._

Gus told me when we got back that it was about when Hawke and I were hugging that he noticed it: the Warden look exchanged between the Wardens.

Hawke cleared her throat and turned to face the man she had been talking to after briefly surveying the other Warden arrivals with quick eyes. "Warden Harranis, this is a dear friend of mine. We've been long separated." Harranis had a face like an anvilL hard, flat, just asking to be smashed in. Not to mention those god-awful sideburns. He said nothing, just gave a stiff nod. His eyes were on me like birdshit on a storefront. In his silence, Hawke continued: "Do you mind if she and I have a moment to catch up? Privately?" Harranis said nothing. He escorted himself and the other Wardens out of the room wordlessly.

Once the doors were shut, Hawke grabbed my hands and pulled me farther into the room, as if they might hear us through stone and oak. "Isabela, I am so happy to see you," she said anxiously. I knew there was a 'but' coming at the end of that. I couldn't bear to hear it. This was all going so unlike I had imagined. So I quickly leaned in, silencing her with a kiss. Gus or Neddic might have whistled or something, but I really couldn't say for sure. The only reason I remembered they were there was because my instincts reminded me that they were the first line of defense standing between us and the Wardens outside.

Hawke didn't relax into the kiss right away; she was still fretting. I persisted, though, and after a moment she allowed herself to reciprocate wholeheartedly. Andraste's tits, I missed that woman.

When we pulled apart, Hawke and I took a moment just to be silent as we held each other's hands. Then it was all ruined by chaos and danger and the usual shit that seemed to hound us constantly. "Darling, I love you so much, but you need to go. Something is going to happen here. I can feel it. I don't want you to be around when whatever this is goes down."

I took a step back and regarded her with the most assertive expression I could muster. It was the one I always used on Hawke when I absolutely _had_ to have things my way. It always worked, too, because she's so susceptible to my charms. "Hawke, there is absolutely no chance I'm going anywhere without you," I demanded. "I don't give two shits what's going to happen, you and I are going to leave this place together."

"Isabela, I need to be here," Hawke protested. Idiot girl and her goddamned idiotic sense of duty. I told her she didn't. I demanded that we leave. She wasn't giving in, though, and that's when I felt tears in my eyes. I wanted to scream. I wanted to stab all those shady fucking Wardens right in the throat and march out of there with the love of my life— and my crew, I suppose.

Hawke saw me on the verge of crying, and when she opened her mouth I could see through my own blurry eyes her face dip into that sad, bent-up frown it does when she cries. I felt horrible. "Darling, I'm really deep in this, do you understand? This is something I have to do. I couldn't save Kirkwall, and I couldn't save Stroud in the Fade, and now the Wardens are left without any strong leadership. Everyone's dead, Isabela." I saw a tear fall down her cheek and cling to her chin. "The only thing I can do about any of it is make sure the Wardens don't die out now."

"And what the hell are you going to do? Are _you_ going to lead the fucking Grey Wardens?"

"No, but I'm going to help in whatever way I can. It's the least I owe—"

Normally I don't do this sort of thing, but my hand actually covered her mouth. I admit I felt like an arsehole when I did it, but it was instinctual. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I made her look at me. I told her that she didn't owe the Wardens anything— didn't owe _anybody_ anything. Every time she ever tried to help, people would just ignore her, and then when everything went to shit they'd beg for her help again. I'm sick of what people have been doing to Hawke all these years, and I'm sick of her letting it happen. I grabbed her hands. "Please, love, let's leave."

I saw the argument form in her eyes. It was that same haunting look in that dying cat's eyes. Merrill and I found it in Lowtown one day. Poor girl was crying herself to pieces over that cat's body. I had to be the one to put it out of its misery. I felt rather much like Merrill in that fortress. There was no way I was going to let the same shit happen to Hawke. "Please," I begged again. My voice broke. Hawke pulled me in quickly, as if I might sink away. "Okay," she whispered, rubbing my back. She's a darling, a stubborn jackass darling with a horrible tendency to get herself in trouble.

Gus spoke then. "Admiral, something's wrong!" he yelled. When I turned around, he and Neddic were backing away from those big shaking oak doors. I tossed Neddic one of my daggers; Gus didn't need weapons when he had his magic. The veins in his arms popped through his skin as flimsy fireballs formed in his palms. Gus didn't carry around a staff because it made him an automatic target. He was more about cutting someone down with a sword and using his less-potent magic to shove people away from his flank. It worked out for him, and it made our whole disarming arrangement slightly more in our favor.

The doors groaned apart, and as soon as the opening was wide enough, two Wardens rushed in with their weapons drawn. "It starts now!" someone bellowed from the courtyard outside. The two Wardens rushed Neddic and Gus. The twins hopped out of the way, Gus sending a blast of heat into one Warden's face.

"Stop this!" Hawke screamed. She grabbed her staff and sent up a wall of ice between the twins and the Wardens. I heard a door burst open from behind us. Other Wardens came pooling through looking confused and alarmed. When they saw that there was fighting going on, they wasted no time jumping down the steps and clashing with the other Wardens. It was as if they all expected this would happen eventually.

"We're in the middle of a goddamned bloody Grey Warden civil war!" I yelled. Okay, so it wasn't the best first response to a sudden outbreak of fighting, but what the fuck could I do? Who the fuck saw this coming? I grabbed Hawke's hand and forcefully pulled her with me. "Boys, we're gone!" I yelled. I grabbed two knives off my belt and flicked one after the other with a short pause in between. Each one landed in the throat of the Wardens harrassing the twins. Just for the record, that is why you should wear gillets if you're serious about survival and silly about fashion. With the brief window for escape, the four of us hurried out through the gap between the doors.

Wardens consumed the walls; I don't know where so many came from when there were so few before. Their numbers had to have doubled. Neddic and Gus started down the steps when Hawke screamed, "No! Stay on the walls, it's too dangerous down there!" She was right, my smart girl; all the defenses were aimed to take out anyone who tried to invade via the portcullis. Hawke gestured for us to follow and began to run along the wall. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an arrow scrape against a bowstring, and without thinking, I dove forward and grabbed Hawke's shoulders. We plummetted to the ground, just barely hearing the dull _thwip_ of an arrow embedded into straw. Hawke jumped to her feet and stabbed her staff into the sky. Several yards away, the archer was consumed by chunks of ice.

"Get the ladder when we're clear!" Hawke ordered over the screaming and clanging. We all stood by her back while she whirled her staff overhead mightily. I could feel the power building up around her with each spiraling motion until finally she slammed the base of her weapon into the ground. A great blast of energy sent all the Wardens around us whirling away, some of them crashing near the gate. I wasted no time; Gus and I grabbed the ladder laid down across the wall and swung it over the side. "You first!" Hawke yelled to my pirates. Neddic and Gus wasted no time clambering down the ladder onto the grass below. "Now you," she said to me, and I knew better than to argue with her.

It was a long run away from the fortress. Hawke navigated us into some woods so that whoever was left standing wouldn't see us fleeing through the fields. We ran and ran and ran. My lungs burned. My throat felt cold and dry.

A new day was beginning to dawn by the time we stopped. Hawke set up some glyphs in a cave and we retreated to the back of it. Neddic had a cut across his bicep, but other than that, everyone was uninjured.

Hawke and I sat together. We were silent a moment, and then I grabbed her hands and kissed her. "Sweet thing, it's you and me from here on out," I vowed. I could feel her smile against my skin in the darkness, and then the air of her tired sigh.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully you've been enjoying this even though I whipped it together quickly (kind of mashed my hands on the keyboard and proofread for spelling). This story's been in my head for a while, so I thought I'd finally write it down and share it with my fellow fans. Please leave a comment! Really makes me smile :D Just a few more chapters to go, and then this is over...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Day Eight**

So I suppose I should record what happened between that cave and our making it back to the ship. Rigger and the rest of my men deserve that much. Still bloody surprised about it all, though.

Gus and Neddic and Hawke and I only slept a few hours before we set out again. It was bright and hot out, but stalling in that cave until nighttime would have given the Wardens plenty of time to track us down. We took off at a run in the direction of the shore. I positively hate running, by the way. All that sweat and exertion and all you get is distance. At least the sweat and exertion on a ship feels good against the wind. Plus it looks pretty. And, of course, there are other fun things that involve sweat and exertion. That's another story, sadly.

Long story short, the Wardens caught up to us; they have horses, after all. I felt the galloping in the dirt before I heard it, and then something hot and sharp gripped me so tight my legs gave out and I collapsed. Sparks were still zapping my body when the mage on horseback dismounted. Gus and Neddic only had the knives I gave them in the last fight, so they were ill-prepared to deal with a mage. The both of them dove out of the way of a blast of fire. My goddamned body wouldn't move. I was forced to watch which, in almost all situations, is more frustration than fun. Hawke stabbed her staff into the ground, sending up spikes of ice under the Warden mage's feet. He was knocked over, but there were others now, dismounting and charging at Hawke with swords and shields raised.

And then it happened: there was a familiar blast, kind of like the sound of a whip but more airy, and the charging Wardens were swallowed up by a flying net. They tripped over each other and crashed on the ground. The Warden mage was distracted by his comrades' sudden fall from glory- ha! That's a good one. Anyway, that split second was all it took for Neddic to flick that knife I gave him through the air, embedding it in the mage's skull. A man after my own heart.

By then, I was finally able to move some. I got on my knees, breathing heavily because lightning is goddamned terrible, and saw the owner of the infamous projectile net launcher: Rigger. There's a reason we call him that. Never thought his gadgets would come in so handy, though.

"Andraste's swollen nipples," I laughed, my voice a little tinny from the shock, "I could kiss you boys." Behind Rigger were two other of my crew, the Vests I like to call them on account of their ridiculous red satin vests. They won an entire cartload of fancy vests in a gamble with a drunken merchant. Poor merchant, if you ask me, but also the fun kind.

"Well, I might like that, Admiral," Rigger guffawed through his chipped, dingy teeth. What a terrible flirt that mouth makes.

The boys behind him sauntered over to the ensnared Wardens and delivered a spiteful kick to their backs. I was all for it— wanted to join in, actually— but I saw Hawke bristle in the corner of my eye.

"Thanks for the rescue," Hawke forced out, "but don't do that." There was plenty of bite in the command, but I suppose the boys were too ignorant to shit themselves proper when threatened by a seriously dangerous woman. They gave Hawke a look I really didn't like. It's that look a drunk and belligerent man gives a barmaid who's just challenged him. I took a step forward, boots beating on the dirt. They glanced in my direction and must have been reminded of how beautifully terrifying I can be— yes, that must be it— because they immediately stepped down.

I went to Hawke's side and placed my hand on the small of her back— an apology. I watched her hand go to her belt where she kept a knife. I know that damned fool woman was considering cutting the Wardens loose, even after they just tried to kill us. Again. But she decided against it, and I was relieved. Really need to work on that girl's survival instincts.

To say I was shocked that Rigger rescued us and that he announced my return to the ship with a cheery "The Cap'n's back!" would be an understatement. We aren't pirates because we love oaths and loyalty. All of the people on that ship sail and fight for a sense of adventure and gold— which we use to buy tits and cock and ale. The seas are a tumultuous place. Ocean's a moody bitch, and she'll flip your rig upside-down if you don't know how to navigate her tantrums. Moving up in a world like that's hard, and I had given Rigger quite the promotion before disembarking. The fact that he just handed captaincy back to me, though...

That, and of course having Hawke back, I've started to feel positively giddy- giddier than that time in the Hanged Man when Hawke's fingers were playing under my tunic right in front of everybody. Damn, I'm a kinky bastard.

Got to leave it at that. Navigator's calling me up. Will write about the last few days with Hawke later— it'll be kind of like writing smut. Might send it to that seeker Varric wrote about.


End file.
